Concrete floor and ceiling.



J. F. GOLDING. CONCRETE FLOOR AND CEILING.

APPLIOATION IiLED MAY 19, 1913. Patented May 5, 1914.

vweutoz 61 Homuu 2 BHEHS-SHEET 1.

u m an M v Q m 4 -w w M N u W a 5 @\@www&w m l 1 NV. 1 D MP Q JQF. GOLDING. CONCRETE FLOOR AND CEILING.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 19, 1913. I 1 095 204 Patented May 5, 1914. 2 SHEETS-SHFET 2. I m

n a 1 1\ Q- WITNESSES:

INVENTOR f 0C, Br' Q W- A TTUHIIEY UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. GOLDING, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

CONCRETE FLOOR AND CEILING.

Specification of'Letters Iatent.

Patented May 5', 1914:.

Application filed Kay 19, 1913; Serial No. 768,534.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. GoLnING, a

citizen of the United States, residing at ashington, in the District of Columbia,

have invented certain new and useful Im-.'

provements in Ooncrete Floors and Ceilings, of which the following-is a specification.

The invention relates to concrete floors and ceilings in which hollow spaces between the walls, girders or beams, and between the floors and ceiling, are produced by spaceforming boxes. Such boxes are also arranged to form between, them spaces or forms for the casting in place of the con-' crete girders or beams, and remain a permanent part of thestructure.

The invention strengthen, cheapen and improve such-constructions in various particulars, and item!- sists in the parts and combinations thereof, and in the process of construction, hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In order to make the invent on more clearly understood, I have shown in the accompanying drawings means for carrying the same into practical efl'ect, without limiting my improvements, in their useful applications,- to the particular constructions which, for the purpose of explanation, I have delineated.

In said drawings :Figure 1 is a sectional perspective view of a hollow concrete floor and ceiling constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 isa side view of a sheet metal-plate, bendable and sec'urable to form the side walls of a box. Fig. 4'is a perspective View of the top of the box, looking at the under side of the same. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the sheets of reticu-v a reticulated metal 4 of open mesh, to form,

a reinforcement for the ceiling panelsbencath the hollow parts of the floor. Expended metal of an inch and a half mesh has for its objects to apart are suitable for the purpose. By reticulated metal I. mean any form or arrangement of metal which leaves spaces for the percolation of the 'cementitiousma- 'terial which is to form the ceiling, and by open mesh I mean that the openings between the rods, wires or'strands are sufliciently large for this purpose. -The metal fl can be laid directly on the centering, or it may be blocked up a little, about onequarter of an inch above the centering 1, by small do-vetail-shapedblocks 20 of cement in a known manner. In certain-combinations and procedures embodying my invention the entire surface of the centering may be covered continuously byone or more sheets of such metal but in other combinations and for other purposesi prefer to make and lay the metal 4 inindependent sheets. Such independentsheets. may be \onesheet for each space-forming box, as illustrated, or one sheet may extend under two or more boxes. By making the sheets of metal independent I. save a considerable amount thereof which would otherwise extend under the beams, and the relatively small sheets are convenient to handle and lay, according to the requirements of the floor, "without having to pay attention to the lapping of sheets and having such laps properly located. Ialso prefer to have metal-connec- "tions extend from edges of the metal4 upward at the outside of the boxes into the bodies of the concrete beams which are formed between the boxes, so as to be anchored in such beams; Such metal connections are preferably formed by bending up edges 5- of the independent sheets 4, as shown in 'Fig. 5.

On the metal 4, whether it be continuous or in independent sheets, I place space-forming boxes 6. By boxes I intend any devices adapted to produce hollow spaces between the floor and ceiling. Ordinarily they are of box-like form, as illnstrated,but they may be. of inverted U-shape consisting of two opposite walls and a top,. and may be arranged with their open ends together so as to form a tunnel-like space of the desired length. In the construction illustrated the boxes 6 have four vertical walls and are arranged about six inches apart, thus providing for two-way concrete beams 7 formed in the spaces between the boxes. In the I is suitable for this purpose. Or woven wire fabric or rods or wires properly spaced spaces which run cross-wise of the span covered by the floor may be laid main beam reinforcing bars 8 of any suitable character, and the cross beams running at right angles to the main beams may be more lightly reinforced by rods 9.

It will be understood that my invention is not limited to'the' reinforcement of the beams, or to the character of such reinforcement. In short spans such reinforcement might be omitted. On the other hand my improved floor and ceiling may be car-' ried by I-beams incased in cementitious material,'such a beam being indicated at 10.

The space-forming devices orboxesfi are preferably made-with separate tops 11, so that cementit-ious material may be laid Within the boxes after they are in place on the centering with the metal 4 beneath them; also for the purpose of making and shipping'the-boxes and tops '11 in knock-down form.. For the latter purpose the sides of the boxes are first made of a continuous plate of sheet'metal, as indicated in Fig. 3.

In ,order to enable this plate to be readily and accurately bent into square form it is perforated at 12 along lines which are to become the corners of the box. Provision is made for uniting the ends of the plate at the fourth corner, as by forming the plate with tongues 13 which may be bent around upon the contiguous sides of the box. .At' the lines on which the said tongues are to be bent the plate may be perforated as shown at 14. I also prefer to ive a beveled,-taperin or dome shape to t e upper part of the box 6, for the purposes of enabling the side walls to'center and retain'in lacethe top 11 and to form a concrete fil et 15 at I the juncture of the concrete beam 7 and floor 16. This is effected, in that form of the invention which is illustrated, by forming on the nest for economical crating or bundling and shipment. They may be shaped by any suitable dies and press. a The parts being shaped and constructed as. above described, or in such equivalent manner as ma embody the invent-ion, and

' the boxes 6, without theirtops, having been placed on the said metal 4, I fill into the boxes sufficient fluid or semi-fluid cement grout 19 to form ceiling panels of substantially theshape and area of the boxes. The

, grout may be composed of sand, cement and water in suitable known proportions-to cause the same to set and become hard. The grout may be more or less coarse, provided'it will of much weight which has been inevitable in other known structures. At the same time the metal reinforcement 4 does or may contribute to the support of the whole structure. Around the sides, under the edges of the boxes, the grout will flow out more or less into the beam spaces, and unites the ceiling panels integrally with the concrete beams when they are filled in, so as to form a monolith of all the cementitious material. The tops 11 are then applied to the boxes, as seenin Fig. 1. The reinforcing bars 8 and 9, if they are employed, may then be placed and supported in any known manner an inch and a half or two inches above the centering. This arrangement brings the beam reinforclements above the top level of the ceiling slabs, thereby resulting in a very thin and light ceiling slab, but one which is sufiiciently strong and is well secured. The wet concrete is then filled in between the boxes to unite with the grout at the edges of the boxes, to embody the metal connections 5, to embody the reinforcements 8 and 9 and to form beams 7; and such filling is continned over the boxes to a proper thickness to form a concrete floor 16 integral with the beams. After the cementitious material, in-

cluding the grout and concrete, has set,-the centering isremoved, leavin the boxes in place as permanent arts 0 the structure. Grout may be used or the lower parts'of the beams if desired, up to the tops of the metal connections 5, .or other preferred height. The fillets 15, of concrete integral wit -the beams and floor, strengthen the structure materially, increasing the effective area of the beams and reducing, in efiect, the span of the floor panels. The centering may be marked off, as by chalk, for the location of the boxes, or of the independent sheets of metal 4, and these movable parts may be lightly tacked or secured tem oraril to the centering. Or the boxes may e hel. spaced properly apart by connections extending from one box to another and engaging the same. In Fig. 6, 21 is a metal connection formed with notches 22. This connection passes through slots 23 in the sides of any two w contiguous boxes and engages the sides of the sam'eby the notches 22. Each boxmay have one or more of the connections 21 at each of its sides. These connections may The boxes 6 may be secured, as by wires 25, I

to the metal 4 beneath them, as shown in Flg. 7, and in such case the edges of the sheets of such metal may not be bent up-. ward, though it is preferred that they be'so bent.

The operation or .process of constructing the described floor and ceiling is simple, convenient and economical; it may be conducted.-

with the least labor and with great despatch';

and the metal parts which enter into the and of the whole structure for the result at- Y tained is required. The ceiling does not need to be plastered, this expensive operation being done away with, and any light finishing coat being sufficient. By the use of the invention a considerable economy results in the building of such structures. a

After the centering has been erected,-

Which in itself is a simple and convenient aft air involving the minimum of lumber and labor, the metal 4 and the boxes may be first laid along one side or end of the floor space, and the grout filled intothe boxes, the tops or covers 11 applied to the boxes, and the beam reinforcements put in place. This is the preferred way of performing my process. While this is being done the rest of the centering is free to be walked on by the workmen while'they are engaged in the operation.

Then more open mesh metal sheets and the boxes are placed until a sufficient part of the floor is ready for the concrete to be filled in. During much of the time the workmen can walk and stand in the spaces between the boxes, which would not be practicable if the whole surface of the centering were first covered with the thin body of fluid cementitious material, because the thin and fluid ceilin panels would be impaired by the feet and w ieelbarrows of the workmen. For the final beam and floor-laying operation, as a convenience in filling in the concrete therefor, boards may be laid on the tops of the boxes on which the workmen may stand and walk.

And such boards may also be used at any stage of the process, as may be practical and desirable. At or near the bottom edges of the boxes'I may provide openings 28 through which grout may flow from wit 1n the boxes into the beam spaces, or through which concrete may flow from the beam spaces to the grout within the boxes, to unite integrally with the same to form amonollthic struc-' ture of the cementitious material.

In some forms of the invention the spaceforming .devices or boxes are not made of sheet metal, though the latter is usually preferred, but of other material such as cement reinforced or otherwise. The spacing and arrangement of the boxes or forms may be other thanthat illustrated. When inverted.

'U-shaped open-ended boxes or forms are =employed, as hereinbefore mentioned, the

fluid cement grout ma be applied before or as the forms are placed.

The giving of a firm and unyielding bottom support to the space-forming devices that they may be held from sinking down durin the filling in of the beams and floor and t ereafter, before the cementitious ma terial has set, is of material importance. I

obtain such a support from the centering through the medium of the metal 4, on which latter, notwithstanding its, embodiment in thegro-ut, the space-forming devices rest, in

the preferred form of my invention.

Horizontal and vertical stiffening ribs or corrugations of suitable arrangement may be formed in the sides and tops of the boxes 6. These corrugations, certain of which are shown at 26, are by' preference formed in the operation of pressing or forming the tops'and the blanks (Fig. 3) for the sides, by stretching the sheet metal without reducing the area of the blanks. Such ribsor corrugations also aid in interlocking the boxes with the concrete.

27 indicates metal connections, such as wires, which may be used to join the metal 4 with the spacing .bars .or connections. 21 that regulate the distance apart of the boxes 6. These connections 27 may be em- 'pl oyed together with or in place of the w1res25.

What I claim is w p 1. The herein described process of constructing hollow concrete floors and ceilings; which consists in laying a continuous centering in the plane of the bottom surface of the ceiling; laying directly on the said centering metal of open mesh; providing therefor anchorage within .the concrete of the beams; placing a relatively thin layer of fluid cement grout and space-forming boxes on the said metal whereby the grout barely. embodies .the metal and the boxes rest on the said metal; arranging metal reinforcementin the beam spaces above the top level of the ceiling; and before the said grout sets,

filling concrete into the spaces between the boxes to form supporting beams integral with the said grout and over the boxes to form a floor, substantially as set forth.

- centering metal of open mesh; providing therefor anchorage within the .concrete of the beams; arranging space-forming boxes on the said metal so as to form beam spaces 3. In a hollow concrete floor and ceiling,

in combination: a concrete floor; beams comprising metal reinforcements and concrete cast integral with the floor; and thin cast ceiling slabs integral with the concrete of the said beams, arranged to leave spaces below the flo0r,'and having their top surfaces below the level of the said reinforcements; and ceiling slab reinforcements in the lower parts ofsa-id slabs and barely covered by the same and having means whereby said ceiling slabs are anchored in the concrete of the beams; substantially as specified.

t. In a hollow concrete floor and ceiling, a series'of space-forming boxes arranged between the floor and ceiling, a plurality of independent sheets of metal of open mesh arranged under the said boxes, edges of which sheets are extended upward outside of the boxes into the concrete of the beams between the boxes, and a body of cementitious material lying below the boxes and in the interstices of the said metal and barelycovering the same to form a thin ceiling and between the boxes to form supporting beams, and above the boxes to form afloor, substantially as set forth.

5. A reinforcement for hollow concrete floors and ceilings, consisting of hollow boxes having bottoms'of open work metal, the open work edges of which bottoms are extended upward and outward at the sides of the boxes for embedding in and interlocking with the concrete of the beams when the latter are formed in the spaces between the boxes, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN F. GOLDING.

Witnesses:

H. N. Low, RUssEL N. Low. 

